A new report says the on-time immunization rate for Kansas children dropped sharply during the last school year after several years of improvement.

The report compiled for the annual Kansas Kids Count report says only 61 percent of Kansas children who were kindergartners during the 2012-13 school year received recommended immunizations by age 2. That was down after improving from 63 percent to 72 percent since 2009.

Kansas Action for Children President Shannon Cotsoradis says the state has made progress on immunizations, and the organization hopes the drop is a one-year anomaly.

The Wichita Eagle reports the Kansas Department of Health and Environment found about 1 percent of Kansas kindergartners opted out of required shots for the 2010-11 school year. Nearly three-fourths of those were for religious exemptions.